Master of Social Work

Master of Social Work

Program Description

The Master of Social Work program is designed for professionals engaged in social welfare and social development work who wish to pursue master’s degree that would equip them with a higher level of competence for direct practice and leadership in their field of practice. This program is open to individuals with a bachelor’s degree in social work and to those without a BSSW pursuing a diploma in social work with a GWA of 2.0 or better.

Program Goals

The Master of Social Work aims to prepare students to assume leadership roles in social administration, clinical practice or community organizing.

Admission Requirements

A bachelor’s degree from a recognized academic institution;
A high level of intellectual capacity and integrity; and
A high English proficiency level (as evidenced by a TOEFL certification) for foreign applicants.

These will be determined through (1) an examination of an applicant’s undergraduate credentials and (2) a review of references from former professors and professional supervisors.

Admission Policies

A Program Admission Committee, headed by the Program Chair of the Social Work Program, will convene to deliberate on the documents submitted by the applicants. The OUR then informs the students of the results of the admission.

If all documents and requirements have been fulfilled by the student, he/she will be admitted as a regular student. Since work experiences are highly considered and important while studying, a regular student is recommended to enrol maximum of 6 units per semester.

A student will be given provisional status if the student failed to submit the needed requirements for admission to the program. The student will be given one year to complete the needed documents.

A student will be given a probationary status if the GWA of the student from his/her previous degree or from preceding semester as a student of UPOU is lower than 2.0. The student needs to acquire a GWA of 2.0 or better in his/her succeeding 12 units within two semester; otherwise, the student will be advised to shift to Diploma in Social Work program.

Mode of Instruction

All courses, except for the field instruction courses, will be delivered mainly by distance education mode. Field instruction courses, an integral part in social work education, requires face-to-face supervision and this will be accomplished with the support of agency field work supervisor working under the overall direction of the faculty-in-charge of the course.

Prospective applicants are advised that the program requires at least one field instruction course for those with BSSW while those without a BSSW will need two field instruction courses. Each course requires working 320 hours in an assigned agency during their regular working hours.

Those without a bachelor’s degree in social work and intend to pursue a Master of Social Work and complete the 1,000-hour requirement for professional social work training will be required to enrol in a total of five field instruction courses.

Those whose employment will not allow for an adjustment of their work schedule for field instruction with another agency may apply to have a work-study scheme. In this scheme, they could conduct their field instruction in the agencies where they are working provided that they satisfy the guidelines to become fieldwork agencies.

Courses

The program consists of 39 units, with varying tracks based on chosen area of specialization (clinical practice, social administration and community organizing), for professionals entering directly to Master’s degree and more than 39 units for individuals coming from Diploma program. After successfully completing all courses, candidates must take and pass a comprehensive examination to earn the degree.

Students Pursuing MSW with BS Social Work Degree

Core Courses (18 units)

Course Code	Course Title	Course Description	Number of Units
SW201	Social, Economic & Political Structures and Processes	Socio-economic and political structures and processes and their implications to social work	3 units
SW202	Human Behavior & Social Change	Theories of human behavior and their implications to social work interventions for social change	3 units
SW210	Social Administration and Development	Perspectives and approaches in the organization and management of social services	3 units
SW220	Social Work Theory & Practice	Theory and practice of social work	3 units
SW299.1	Social Work Research I		3 units
SW299.2	Social Work Research II		3 units

Specialization Courses (6 units)

Area of Specialization	Course Code	Course Title	Course Description	Number of Units
Social Administration	SW211	Social Policy Development	Approaches and techniques in social policy formulation for social development	3 units
Social Administration	SW212	Social Planning and Program Development	Participative methods of social planning and programming	3 units
Clinical Practice	SW221	Clinical Social Work Practice I	Individual and family diagnosis and treatment	3 units
Clinical Practice	SW222	Clinical Social Work Practice II	Group treatment concepts, methods and techniques	3 units
Community Organizing	SW230	Theory and Practice of Community Organization	Theories, principles and processes in the formation, maintenance, consolidation and evaluation of people’s organization	3 units
Community Organizing	SW231	Strategies in Community Mobilization	Strategies and tactics in the effective mobilization of communities for social action [Prerequisite: SW 230]	3 units

Field Instruction, Electives, and Cognate (6 units)

Course Code	Course Title	Course Description	Number of Units
SW253	Supervision in the Social Services or Any major course apart from area of specialization	Supervisory principles, approaches and techniques in the supervision of professional staff, paraprofessionals and volunteers. [Prerequisite: COI]	3 units
	Social Work Elective	Any major course apart from area of specialization	3 units
	Cognate	Any 200-level course	3 units
SW280	Field Instruction I		3 units
SW281	Field Instruction by Area of Concentration		3 units
		Comprehensive Exam

Students Pursuing DSW who wish to proceed to MSW

Additional courses are required for students who wish to proceed to Master of Social Work from Diploma of Social Work.

Students not needing 1000 hours of Field Instruction

Course Code	Course Title	Course Description	Number of Units
SW299.2	Social Work Research II		3 units
SW281	Field Instruction by Area of Concentration		3 units
	Elective	Any 200-level social work course	3 units
	Cognate	Any 200-level course	3 units
		Comprehensive Exam
Total:			12 units

Students needing 1000 hours of Field Instruction

Course Code	Course Title	Course Description	Number of Units
SW299.2	Social Work Research II		3 units
SW281	Field Instruction by Area of Concentration		3 units
SW280.2	Field Instruction: Special Client Group I	Supervised field instruction to develop beginning proficiency in generalist social work practice with a special client group [Prerequisite: SW 280.1 and all core/required specialization courses]	3 units
SW280.3	Field Instruction: Special Client Group II	Supervised field instruction to develop beginning proficiency in generalist social work practice with a special client group (different from the client group in SW 280.2) [Prerequisite: SW 280.2]	3 units
		Comprehensive Exam
Total:			12 units

Plan of Study

Plan A (with thesis)

MASTER OF SOCIAL WORK with BSSW (39 units) 3 ½ years

	FIRST SEMESTER		SECOND SEMESTER
	COURSE NUMBER	COURSE TITLE	COURSE NUMBER	COURSE TITLE
1	SW 202 SW 210	Human Behavior and Social Change Social Administration and Development	SW 201 SW 220	Social, Economic, and Political Structures and Processes Social Work Theory and Practice
2	Area of Specialization 1 SW 299.1*	(See list below the table) Social Work Research I	Area of Specialization 2 SW 280	(See list below the table) Field Instruction I
3	SW 281 SW 299.2	Field Instruction II Social Work Research II	SW 300	Thesis
4	SW 300	Thesis

*Semester and year of taking the course can be interchanged (depending on course offering)
*SW 299.1 Social Work Research I must come first before SW 299.2 Social Work Research II
*FI can be taken even before SW 299.1 or 2, but must be taken after all core courses and at least one area of specialization

Area of Specialization (Major Course): just choose one area of specialization

Social Administration
- SW 211 Social Policy Development
- SW 212 Social Planning and Program Development
Clinical Practice
- SW 221 Clinical Social Work Practice I
- SW 222 Clinical Social Work Practice II
Community Organizing
- SW 230 Theory and Practice of Community Organization
- SW 231 Strategies in Community Mobilization

Plan B (with Comprehensive Exam)

MASTER OF SOCIAL WORK with BSSW (39 units) 3 ½ years

	FIRST SEMESTER		SECOND SEMESTER
	COURSE NUMBER	COURSE TITLE	COURSE NUMBER	COURSE TITLE
1	SW 202 SW 210	Human Behavior and Social Change Social Administration and Development	SW 201 SW 220	Social, Economic, and Political Structures and Processes Social Work Theory and Practice
2	Area of Specialization 1 SW 299.1*	(See list below the table) Social Work Research I	Area of Specialization 2 SW 299.2	(See list below the table) Social Work Research II
3	Elective 1* Cognate*	(See list below the table) (See list below the table)	Elective 2* SW 280	(See list below the table) Field Instruction I
4	SW 281	Field Instruction II	Comprehensive Exam

*Semester and year of taking the course can be interchanged (depending on course offering)
*SW 299.1 must come first before SW 299.2
*FI can be taken even before SW 299.1 or 2, but must be taken after all core courses and at least one area of specialization

*Elective List

SW 253 or any major course apart from area of specialization

*Cognate

Any 200-level course from any Field

Area of Specialization (Major Course): just choose one area of specialization

Social Administration
- SW 211 Social Policy Development
- SW 212 Social Planning and Program Development
Clinical Practice
- SW 221 Clinical Social Work Practice I
- SW 222 Clinical Social Work Practice II
Community Organizing
- SW 230 Theory and Practice of Community Organization
- SW 231 Strategies in Community Mobilization

Additional courses to be taken by DSW graduates proceeding to MSW:

DSW graduates with Bachelor’s degree in Social Work

Plan A: with thesis

SW299.2 (Social Work Research II)
SW281 (Field Instruction II)
SW 300 (Thesis)

Plan B: with comprehensive exam

SW299.2 (Social Work Research II)
SW281 (Field Instruction II)
Elective
Cognate
Comprehensive exam

2. DSW graduates without BSSW and those who need 1000 hours of Field Instruction (for licensure exam)

Plan A: with thesis

SW 299.2 (Social Work Research II)
SW 281 Field Instruction II)
SW 280.2 (Field Instruction: Special Client Group 1)
SW 280.3 (Field Instruction: Special Client Group 2)
SW 300 (Thesis)

Plan B: with comprehensive exam

SW 299.2 (Social Work Research II)
SW 281 (Field Instruction II)
SW 280.2 (Field Instruction: Special Client Group 1)
SW 280.3 (Field Instruction: Special Client Group 2)
Comprehensive exam

SAMPLE COURSEWORK OF A DSW GRADUATE WITHOUT BSSW WHO WISH TO PROCEED TO MSW 3 years plus 1 1/12

YEAR	FIRST SEMESTER		SECOND SEMESTER
	COURSE NUMBER	COURSE TITLE	COURSE NUMBER	COURSE TITLE
2020	–		SW 201 SW 299.1	Social, Economic, and Political Structures and Processes Social Work Research I
2021	SW 202 SW 210	Human Behavior and Social Change Social Administration and Development	SW 220 SW 221	Social Work Theory and Practice Clinical Social Work Practice I
2022	SW 230 SW 211	Theory and Practice of Community Organization Social Policy Development	SW 212 SW 280.1	Social Planning and Program Development Field Instruction: Generalist Social Work Practice
2023	SW 280	Field Instruction I	Residence (took Comprehensive Exam)
		DSW Graduation
2024	SW 299.2 SW 281	Social Work Research II Field Instruction	SW 280.2	Field Instruction: Special Client Group 1
2025	SW 280.3	Field Instruction: Special Client Group 2	Comprehensive Exam

Program Policies

Field Instruction

Field Instruction (FI), which is offered in collaboration with social agencies, forms an integral part of the preparation of students for professional responsibilities in social work. It provides forum for the critical integration of theoretical and experiential learning in social work education.

The Social Work profession was established by the passing of Republic Act 4373, otherwise known as the Social Work Law in 1965 which further requires a minimum period of 1,000 hours of practical training in any established social work agency under the supervision of a qualified and trained Social Worker.

The Program Chair acts as the FI Coordinator who serves as the administrator of the FI program specifically on developing FI manual/guide which stipulates the policies in FI, looks for and approves FI agencies, oversees the supervision of students, facilitates the understanding of UPOU and agency for FI and address other concerns related to FI.

A school fieldwork supervisor will also be needed to do weekly supervision of students to ensure that the field placement achieves the FI objectives. He/she will serve as a faculty-in-charge (FIC) for the particular FI subject. An agency fieldwork supervisor, who comes from the fieldwork agency of the student, will be the one to supervise the day-to-day activities in the field. The agency fieldwork supervisor should have at least a master’s degree in any development discipline but with social work degree at any level.

The FI Coordinator selects and approves agencies which can become FI agencies of students. Below are the minimum considerations in selecting and approving agencies/organizations to become FI agencies:

The interest of the agency in providing field instruction to students;
The agency’s affiliation preferably with a licensed and accredited institution/ agency or other organizations and with accredited programs;
The agency’s existing programs and services that can meet the expectations/objectives of fieldwork enrolled in;
The agency has qualified and willing (at least one) licensed social workers who will provide instruction/supervision to students;

Only students who completed their core and specialization/survey courses are allowed to take their FI subjects (except for SW 280.1 where students have to finish their core courses only). Different tracks and areas of specialization also differ in the number of required FI subjects, required number of hours and the focus of FI.

Comprehensive Exam

A student may take the comprehensive exam once he/she has completed and satisfied all courses/requirements for the program.

Application for Comprehensive Examination
- A student should file for a comprehensive exam through the student support at least two months before the scheduled dates of the examination. The program chair will:
- Assess the application and make the necessary recommendation
- Request the institution of a committee to manage and decide on matters related to the exam.
- Coverage, Weight and Duration of Exam
The examination is divided into four domains, each with a specific number of hours allotted:
- The student can complete the examination within three consecutive days.
Passing
- The student needs to get 70% passing rate per exam domain. An oral examination might be given for domains with 60% passing rate or for clarification purposes.
- A student is only given two chances to pass the comprehensive examination.
Exam Venue
- Comprehensive exam venues can be in the Learning Center or somewhere else but still following the procedures of online/offshore examination.
Logistics
- The student can use a computer/laptop in answering the exam. The student needs to empty the files in the computer and the exam proctor would check the computer before the start of the examination.
- At the end of each exam day (except for the last day), the student leaves the computer to the proctor for safekeeping.
- The student is also advised to bring food during the exam especially for the domain on area of specialization to avoid untoward dishonest behavior when the student leaves the exam room for break time.